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Length of Math Lessons
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Hi all,
We are new to CM and I am having problems reconciling the amount of time we spend on math lessons with the CM method. From reading through CM articles, I understand that we are only supposed to be taking approximately 15-20 minutes for any given subject. How in the world do you do math in such a short period of time??? We are slogging through at a pace of about an hour and a half for ONE math lesson. (I am teaching three kiddos in three different levels of math.) Please help! Math is taking all day and sucking all the fun out of the rest of the day.
Thanks!
Jennifer
Please give the ages of your children and whether math is a struggle for them or not. You can still have short lessons but have two separate math sessions each day for each child. You can break it up by doing a different subject that uses a different part of the brain, or give a break for play (being sure to set a timer).
We are currently using CLE Sunrise math light units. My 9 yo does two sessions of 15-20 minutes each. My 11 yo does two 20-30 minute sessions. We used to try to do math all at one sitting and it only got longer because halfway through I would start to lose their attention and I would get the deer in the headlights look. And you do not have to complete a whole lesson in one day. You can stop in the middle and pick up where you left off the next day.
Oh, sorry, that would probably help…LOL.
My oldest son is 13 and math is a constant struggle. My middle son is 11 and he is math whiz and loves all things numbers. My daughter is 8 and she only struggles a little.
I have been trying to have them do math all at once but I think that is counterproductive for us. They all seem to have questions at once and when one is getting tutored from me the others sit there waiting their turn. Maybe if I had them do math at separate times from each other?
I like the idea of separating the math lesson in two for the day.
If you don’t complete the lesson, how do you feel like you aren’t falling behind?
Thank you for your thoughts!
The 20 minute lesson applies to elementary ages. Your 13 YO can spend more time…my DD often spends up to 30-40 minutes on a lesson.
My 13 YO also struggles with math. We work on it year-round and I often have her do a math lesson on days we don’t have school or on weekends. Sometimes we split the lesson up into 2 sessions. This is especially helpful when we get to a difficult topic like long division or multiple-digit multiplication.
I’ve had their math both at the same time and separately, depending on our needs at the time. We use MUS, so they usually only have one lesson per week…with any luck, they don’t all need a new lesson on the same day! I generally work with the youngest and help the others as needed.
When we did their lessons separately, I had the others do independent subjects while I worked with one child. For the younger DC, they just played quietly during this time.
I have a 13 year old daughter who is using Math U See as well.
She works on math for 40 minutes each day and that will move up to 45 minutes per day next year in high school. We don’t take long breaks and we don’t take as much time off as the public schools do. We still end up moving through one math book a year on average.
We started with 15 minutes a day and slowly added a few minutes here and there throughout the years.
I give my daughter the option to break her math time into two twenty minute sessions instead of one, long forty minute session.
Thank you, all, so much for all of your advice! I really appreciate it. 🙂
I’m going to try splitting the kids up for math so I can focus on one at a time. Also I am going to try breaking up the lesson time so we have two shorter periods of learning time.
I told my 11yo dd to stop after doing math for 45 minutes. She ignored that and continued in her favorite method of doing math — procrastinate, fight, and then cry about being stupid.
So, then I started sitting next to her and helping her through the new stuff (we use CLE) and the first review problem or two. Then, I’d get up, but stay in the same room so that she’d ask for my help. And, I made it a point to drop what I was doing and immediately help her with whatever problem was stumping her. And we’d stop after 45 minutes of this.
Then one day, she set the timer and did the lesson – she needed some help (I explained those problems) – and realized that the CLE math lesson only took 30 minutes when she worked diligently.
And then Christmas break happened………. *L*
You can avoid “feeling behind” if you re-set how you look at lessons. In traditional schools, for example, the goal is to cover a certain amount of math material by the end of the school year so the student won’t be behind in math when they enter the next grade. With homeschooling, the goal should be to continually master math skills in a logical sequence. Some kids master math skills easily and move forward in the scope and sequence quickly. Others kids master math skills with more difficulty and move forward in the scope and sequence slower. Those kids are only “behind” if you have a pre-set notion of what material you need to finish by the end of the year/term. If you don’t have that pre-set notion, then nobody is behind. It is perfectly fine to take more than 1 year to finish a book that the curriculum company recommends finishing in only 1 year.
For what it’s worth, I spend less than the recommended time on math because my 7-year-old son can focus his attention and give his best effort to math for about 10 minutes only. Occasionally we can do 12 minutes. (Last term it was 8 minutes.) And he is moving forward at a fine pace. We don’t use a math curriculum any more – we use the CM methods and scope/sequence outlined in the book “Mathematics: An Instrument for Living Teaching.” I LOVED giving up a curriculum and just focusing on math skills!!!
Mamatoto,
That book looks intriguing! I read through the sample that is provided and it rings true with what is in my heart about teaching math. My one question is though, does it give you concrete examples for mental math and the word problems CM is talking about? I am not very creative (when it comes to math) and don’t want to have to completely recreate a math curriculum for each of my children. Also, I want to be sure I am not forgetting a certain concept so that they have a solid mathematical base to build on.
Thank you for sharing your experience!
Yes, the book is jam packed with examples of mental math questions. I also purchased Ray’s New Primary Arithmetic for under $10, which is a little booklet filled with mental math questions. (It was recommended as a help in the DVD.) I highly recommend getting the book/DVD bundle. You can see samples of some of the early DVD lessons on the SCM YouTube channel. It really helped me to see “sample lessons” in action, and helped me realize the genius and simplicity of the method. I relied on the examples in the book, the DVD, and Ray’s for a several weeks until I got the hang of things and now I make things up easily on the spot. My son has been really into football and racing pigeons lately, so most of our questions revolve around those two topics. For example: The Seahawks are 1st and 10, but the Vikings sacked Russel Wilson and they lost 7 yards. Now it’s 2nd and what? (17) Russel Wilson threw the ball to Tyler Locket for a gain of 14 yards. Now where are they? (3rd and 3) There’s was flag on the play against the Seahawks with a 15 yard penalty. Now it’s 3rd and what? (18) Russell Wilson hands the ball off to Marshawn Lynch and he rushes for 16 yards. Now where are they? (4th and 2) What would you do in this situation? (Try for a field goal.) Steven Haushka’s kick is good! The Seahawks had 10 points before the kick. How many do they have now? (13) And so on…
Also, pages 46-48 in the book outline the topics/skills that were taught to Charlotte’s students in which grade. It is a very thorough “scope and sequence” that you work through line by line using Charlotte’s methods as described in the book, so you won’t forget anything.
Jennifer,
If you are looking to buy a copy of the SCM math book, I have a copy I’m ready to part with. I’ve never sold curriculum before, but I’m sure we could work something out if you’re interested.
I was praying and thinking some more- if you feel the math book would help you, you can give me your address and I’d be happy to just mail it to you. 🙂
I want to add that I don’t plan out my questions ahead of time – I just think of them on the spot. I didn’t do this much our first term because it was too intimidating and I didn’t think I was creative, so I used questions other people came up with, but as time went on I found it was easier and more fun than I thought. So don’t let that be a concern. I believe Richelle gives another helpful book in the DVD besides Ray’s, but I can’t remember now what it is.
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